June 11 pm
The welcome reception this evening was phenomenal. Walking into the ballroom, I was greeted by three waiters in tuxedoes, each carrying trays of wine—both red and white— offering me a beverage. Everyone dressed to the nines. The clamor of voices coming from conversations between JFMF participants and former Japanese Fulbrighters filled the room.
In the backdrop, this duo played traditional Japanese music to fill in the gaps of silence at the change of conversation. Amazing. All of this for American teachers who have never been treated with such honor and extravagance at any point in their careers in the US. It feels nice, and I will treasure the esteem they have for us always.
Pre-dinner: mingling about, striking up conversations with the esteemed guests and exchanging meishi, discussing politics and world affairs. After some opening remarks and words of welcome from Kiso Isao, Director-General for International Affairs and the Chair of The Japan-United States Educational Commission, and after hearing remarks from Ronald J. Post, the Minister-Counselor for Public Affairs at the American Embassy in Tokyo, we were indulged with an incredibly rich feast. There was everything imaginable available, including traditional noodle and rice dishes, sundry salads and vegetables, sushi and sashimi, as well as a number of seafood casseroles and thinly sliced, very rare beef. The only thing missing was fugu.
During dinner I spoke with one Japanese man, a former Fulbrighter who could not possibly understand why we are wasting so much money on war, and why we are at war at all. He said that if the government in Japan spent money like that that there would be such a public outrage that the government would not be able to continue doing so. He wanted to know why the American people have just been sitting back, doing nothing, and allowing the government to destroy the financial future of our children by saddling them with so much debt. It was hard to respond to his criticism, since I agree to some extent. But I tried to express to him how fear functions as a controlling force in American politics in our post 9/11 world. I told him, for instance, that I believe Bush, rightly or wrongly, won his second term on the Fear Ticket, raising the concern of a future terrorist attack to the forefront of America’s consciousness to such a degree that people who may have been critical of him voted for him anyway because they were worried and fearful. We then drifted into a conversation about the current race for the Whitehouse. It was quite interesting to hear his perspective on not only our foreign policy, but also on his perceptions of the Japanese as a whole and their view of Americans.
As the dinner wound down, and the desserts and coffee disappeared on small plates with small, three-tined forks, so did the people. Many from my cohort drifted off in the bright lights of the city to explore various neighborhoods rich with night life. I ended up going out to sing Karaoke with 7 other people, which was an absolute riot. In the States Karaoke is known as a synonym for public humiliation often.
This is because the individual sings at a bar or other locale in front of a group of strangers; however, in Japan, Karaoke bars have a series of individual rooms where groups of friends convene and then sing privately only amongst themselves. We sang everything from “Back in Black,” and “Bohemian Rhapsody,” to “Material Girl,” and “We didn’t start the fire.” All in all, it was a blast, and it only cost about 550 Yen, or around $5.50 per person. So, about the cost of a drink.
Afterwards, we went out to a below ground restaurant/bar, which was rather full and teeming with fingertips clamping cigarettes, the smoke curling into a amorphous haze of smoke. On that note, I have to say that Japan, although incredibly clean and very interested in all sorts of hygiene, does not share America’s recent distaste for smoking in public buildings. People practically chain-smoke here. In fact, at last count I have probably smoked around 231 cigarettes, give or take a few.
So, while in the restaurant we did as the Japanese do: we bought a bottle of sake, engaged in conversation with the locals, and then decided to go for a subway ride.
The welcome reception this evening was phenomenal. Walking into the ballroom, I was greeted by three waiters in tuxedoes, each carrying trays of wine—both red and white— offering me a beverage. Everyone dressed to the nines. The clamor of voices coming from conversations between JFMF participants and former Japanese Fulbrighters filled the room.
In the backdrop, this duo played traditional Japanese music to fill in the gaps of silence at the change of conversation. Amazing. All of this for American teachers who have never been treated with such honor and extravagance at any point in their careers in the US. It feels nice, and I will treasure the esteem they have for us always.Pre-dinner: mingling about, striking up conversations with the esteemed guests and exchanging meishi, discussing politics and world affairs. After some opening remarks and words of welcome from Kiso Isao, Director-General for International Affairs and the Chair of The Japan-United States Educational Commission, and after hearing remarks from Ronald J. Post, the Minister-Counselor for Public Affairs at the American Embassy in Tokyo, we were indulged with an incredibly rich feast. There was everything imaginable available, including traditional noodle and rice dishes, sundry salads and vegetables, sushi and sashimi, as well as a number of seafood casseroles and thinly sliced, very rare beef. The only thing missing was fugu.
During dinner I spoke with one Japanese man, a former Fulbrighter who could not possibly understand why we are wasting so much money on war, and why we are at war at all. He said that if the government in Japan spent money like that that there would be such a public outrage that the government would not be able to continue doing so. He wanted to know why the American people have just been sitting back, doing nothing, and allowing the government to destroy the financial future of our children by saddling them with so much debt. It was hard to respond to his criticism, since I agree to some extent. But I tried to express to him how fear functions as a controlling force in American politics in our post 9/11 world. I told him, for instance, that I believe Bush, rightly or wrongly, won his second term on the Fear Ticket, raising the concern of a future terrorist attack to the forefront of America’s consciousness to such a degree that people who may have been critical of him voted for him anyway because they were worried and fearful. We then drifted into a conversation about the current race for the Whitehouse. It was quite interesting to hear his perspective on not only our foreign policy, but also on his perceptions of the Japanese as a whole and their view of Americans.
As the dinner wound down, and the desserts and coffee disappeared on small plates with small, three-tined forks, so did the people. Many from my cohort drifted off in the bright lights of the city to explore various neighborhoods rich with night life. I ended up going out to sing Karaoke with 7 other people, which was an absolute riot. In the States Karaoke is known as a synonym for public humiliation often.
This is because the individual sings at a bar or other locale in front of a group of strangers; however, in Japan, Karaoke bars have a series of individual rooms where groups of friends convene and then sing privately only amongst themselves. We sang everything from “Back in Black,” and “Bohemian Rhapsody,” to “Material Girl,” and “We didn’t start the fire.” All in all, it was a blast, and it only cost about 550 Yen, or around $5.50 per person. So, about the cost of a drink.Afterwards, we went out to a below ground restaurant/bar, which was rather full and teeming with fingertips clamping cigarettes, the smoke curling into a amorphous haze of smoke. On that note, I have to say that Japan, although incredibly clean and very interested in all sorts of hygiene, does not share America’s recent distaste for smoking in public buildings. People practically chain-smoke here. In fact, at last count I have probably smoked around 231 cigarettes, give or take a few.
So, while in the restaurant we did as the Japanese do: we bought a bottle of sake, engaged in conversation with the locals, and then decided to go for a subway ride. 
While walking to the subway, we passed a restaurant that had a fish tank with fugu fish swimming in it. fugu fish is the incredibly expensive and ridiculously poisonous fish that people deem a delicacy here. Thanks, but no thanks.
Mind you, it was around 12:15 am. But there were still people in business suits swarming around. Correction, many of them staggering around, extremely inebriated. This actually is very customary. After work, it is very common to go out drinking with fellow-workers and stay out very late. After we bought our subway tickets and rode for a bit, we were kicked off (it stops running, it turns out, around 12:29), so my friends and I found a restaurant which stays open until 5 am, and hung out there for a while. Around 2 we took a cab back to our hotel. Oh what a night…The alarm clock went off very early. 
1 comment:
Ryan,
I've been enjoying your blog from Japan. It brings back some great memories of when Kelly and I were there.
Looking forward to seeing you and your family in
August.
Pat
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